Transcription

00:17 – It’s natural to be disappointed

When you apply to join Victoria Police, you invest a lot of time and effort, and you’re really investing a lot of yourself in that journey. If something goes wrong, naturally, you’re going to be upset and disappointed. I want to share with you a very quick story about something that happened to me when I was working at the Victoria Police Academy, involved in one of the official fitness testing days.

00:37 – Kicking the bin on the way out

In fact, it didn’t happen to me. It happened to an applicant, and that was that she was unsuccessful with her fitness test. Having failed one of the components of the test, she lost it, basically. She started swearing. She left the venue. She actually physically kicked the rubbish bin, on the way out the door. And I have to say, that was several years ago now, but it still sticks in my mind, and I can tell you that it had an impression on me and it certainly had an impression on the other staff members involved in running the testing that day.

01:05 – What not to do

So maybe it’s a good idea to start with what you should not do if something goes wrong with your application. Obviously, what you should not do is what this particular applicant did because of the poor impression that it makes. Now, when something goes wrong, that’s when our true colours tend to show up. If you overreact, if you become aggressive, if you become critical about the process, or you start being very negative about aspects of the day, or the test, or things like that, it makes a really poor impression.

01:35 – What you should do

What you should do is obviously, the opposite of that. You should be positive. You should show some emotional maturity and resilience, and you should get back up, and bounce back, and keep going forward. That’s the kind of character, the kind of values, and personality traits that they want to see in applicants. They don’t want to see you drop the ball and kick the rubbish bin on the way out the door.

Obviously, the way you respond in a situation like that might mirror how you could potentially respond in a situation out there, on the street, if you’re working as a police officer. So you’ve got to show those skills and qualities in a positive light.

02:11 – Stay positive and get back on the horse

Okay, so if something goes wrong, let’s keep it positive, get back on the horse and keep moving forward. You can always reapply if your application is not successful the first time.

Okay, guys. Well, thanks for the chat today. I’ll look forward to having another discussion with you soon. Cheers.